Ralph Fiennes: The Unauthorized Biography

by York Membery

The first biography of one of the brightest, most talented stars of the 90s, whose starring role in ``The English Patient'' has made him the toast of Hollywood. Ralph Fiennes' meteoric rise to fame has made him the subject of much speculation. Sought after on both sides of the Atlantic after the spectacular, Oscar-winning success of ``The English Patient,'' he has become one of the cinema's hottest properties. As desirable as Brando and as English as David Niven, he is also a brilliant stage actor, acclaimed as one of the greatest Hamlets ever. Intensely private and media-shy, however, he remains an enigma. In this new unauthorized biography, journalist York Membery delves behind the headlines to uncover the nature of this curious and exciting man--from his bohemian childhood, through the early days of his acting career and his relationships, up to the very pinnacle of his current success. York Membery is a journalist and feature writer for Britain's Guardian and The Sunday Times. 224 pp 6 x 9 16 pp b/w photos

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Lisa Munoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfinished and unauthorised.

I'm a huge Ralph fan so there was no way I wasn't going to read this. Although I found some interesting tidbits about him and his films and plays that I didn't know before, other times I found myself cringing at the prying nose of journalistic prodding that goes in this book, mostly because of the sources from tabloids.

This also is not even half the story, since this came out in 1997 and there are so many milestones and events that happened in those years since in the movie business and in his life.

It would probably have been best if he told his story himself. A little unlikely since he is a very private person.

One of the things I would do if I had a Time Machine, would be to go back in time and pay to watch all of his plays, such as Hamlet, Oedipus and Ivanov. As they had nothing but great reviews from everyone.

[Mindy Windholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unauthorized is the key word here, with snippets of previously published interviews and anonymous sources identified only as "friends" who dished out personal details. There's also some speculations around his family life which aren't fully verified, but judging by the majority of his characters that he has played I would venture to guess there is some truth in the depiction. If you can get past that, there is some good information regarding his early career and experiences while working on the set of the immensely powerful "Schindler's List." There are also a few salacious mentions of his decade long relationship with the exquisite Alex Kingston and the effect that his departure for affections of Francesca Annis had on her. It ends just as he has been cast in "The Avengers" so it is fairly dated. I found myself feeling guilty for being disrespectful in reading this work of the notoriously private actor, but as a psychoanalyst I could not help myself.

12-22-2020-I read it again today in honor of the subject's 58th birthday.